A customer holds an iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus after the phones went on sale
A customer holds an iPhone 6 (R) and iPhone 6 Plus after the phones went on sale at the Fifth Avenue Apple store in Manhattan, New York September 19, 2014. Apple latest phone lured throngs of gadget lovers, entrepreneurs and early adapters to its stores in New York, San Francisco and other cities around the world in the latest sign of strong initial demand for the new, larger generation of iPhones. Reuters/Adrees Latif

The professor of Radio Frequency Engineering at the University of Manchester, Danielle George, is of the opinion that the younger generation, having grown up in a disposable world, are no longer able to fix technological devices by themselves. George states that the younger generation is more likely to simply replace a broken device than try to repair it themselves.

George goes on to state, "We've got a lost generation that has grown up with factory electronics that just work all the time. All of these things in our home do seem to work most of the time and because they don't break we just get used to them. They have almost become the Black Boxes which never die. And when they do we throw them away and buy something new."

She is giving a lecture titled "Sparks will fly: How to hack your own home" at the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. She intends the lecture to encourage people to be more tech savvy, especially when it comes to their household devices. One of the few concepts she includes in her lecture is the ability to creatively use household appliances to create DIY objects, for instance, converting a bottle of water into a lamp.

The professor also stated, "If we all take control of the technology and systems around us, and think creatively, then solving some of the world's greatest challenges is only a small step away. I beleive everyone has the potential to be an inventor."

The director of Science and Education at the Royal Institution, Gail Cardew, said, "Our aim is to bring to life the incredible ingenuity, innovation and creativity of engineering. The lectures are being broadcast from Dec 29-31 on BBC.